Detroit Lions sign 10 players to reserve/futures deals

The Detroit Lions started their offseason transactions by signing 10 players to reserve/futures deals on Monday.

In the afterglow of the season-ending win over the Green Bay Packers, the offseason began for the Detroit Lions on Monday. The day after the season finale is usually the day for non-playoff teams to start signing players to reserve/futures deals, and the Lions did so on Monday afternoon.

The Lions signed 10 players to reserve/futures deals, and here’s the list. All came from the Lions’ own practice squad.

RB Jermar Jefferson
WR Maurice Alexander
WR Stanley Berryhill
WR Tom Kennedy
OT Obinna Eze
OT Darrin Paulo
DT Demetrius Taylor
CB Jarren Williams
CB Khalil Dorsey
S Brady Breeze

Any player not on the active roster can be signed to a futures deal, and the deals don’t count against the salary cap. And the Lions could sign more than these 10 players to futures deals.

Detroit Lions sign 10 players to futures deals

Kennedy (seven games), Alexander (four games), Berryhill (four games), Breeze (two games), Taylor (one game) and Williams (two games) appeared in games for the Lions this season. Jefferson, a sixth-round pick by the Lions in 2021, was elevated to the active roster for Week 18 but ultimately did not see game action in his second season.

Kennedy has been a preseason stud for the Lions, and head coach Dan Campbell has taken most any opportunity to praise him when they’ve come. He had eight receptions for 141 yards this season, with a run of games he played a lot as injuries hit the receiving corps, highlighted by a 44-yard catch against the Chicago Bears in Week 10.

Eze got a nice deal from the Lions as an undrafted rookie after the 2022 draft, and he’s still an interesting developmental prospect.

It’s ultimately rare for players who are signed to futures deals to make a notable impact come games that matter in the fall. But those signings are the start of offseason business in the NFL, and that time is here for the Lions as they look to take another big step next season.